Snapshots of Romance
by huanxn
Summary: Harry, with his usual luck, manages to lose a camera after taking a single picture with Ginny at the coast. Years later, an antique camera washes up on the beach where Percy's dragged Annabeth along for the day. Oneshot.


"Harry, wait!"

Green eyes moved over to meet brown, one dark eyebrow raised. "What, Ginny?"

She grinned cheekily. "Knowing your luck, you better cast some protective charms over that camera in your hands."

He mock-glared at her. "I'm standing next to the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. What could possibly go wrong?"

"You know that every time you say that, something inevitably does go wrong. You're tempting your Potter luck." Ginny swung her leg over the Firebolt, dismounting to stand next to Harry. Before he could protest further, she drew her wand and cast a charm to waterproof the camera, as well as one to make it Unbreakable, as long as the charm held out. Of course, Harry knew, enchantments on the camera allowed it to run indefinitely, as long as the situations Ginny had just prevented took place.

"Happy now?" Harry reversed the camera in his grip and held it out far in front of him. He glanced over at Ginny, who moved to stand slightly behind him. As he prepared to take the photo, Harry couldn't resist one dig at his sweetheart. Adopting an innocent, wide-eyed face, he snarked, "The Potter luck comes with the Potter propensity for redheads."

The camera flashed just as Ginny stuck her tongue out. Harry lowered the device, laughing openly. Ginny's smack on his shoulder only made him laugh harder at her. She stood with her hands on hips, a fond glare in her eyes. Well-used to the expression, Harry continued to chortle until Ginny's wand appeared.

From long experience, Harry knew a Stinging Hex was imminent, and flung his hands up in a gesture of mock-surrender. "Have merc- oops!"

Ginny could only watch as the camera flew from Harry's grip to arc up, back, and over the edge of cliff. He slowly turned a guilt-ridden gaze on her, and smiled weakly. "You told me so?"

"Harry Potter! Even an Accio won't be able to reach that far, and by the time we get down there on the broom, Merlin knows where the ocean'll have taken it." Ginny scolded lightly.

He sighed. "Well, it's worth a shot." Swinging a leg over the broom they had shared on the leisurely flight to the coast, Harry lifted into the air. A moment's movement saw him disappear swiftly beneath the lip of the rock face. The wind whistled past as Harry let gravity take over, pulling him into speeds he regularly reached during dives for the Snitch. As the salty water rushed up to meet him, Harry flicked his wrist, letting the holster eject his wand into his hand.

The familiar wood of the holly wand gave him the usual sense of reassurance. With the hand still on the broomstick, Harry wrenched it upwards, halting his speedy descent. "_Accio_ camera."

He paused, waiting for a tell-tale splash to break the surface of the water. None came. Taking a deep breath, Harry tried again with more effort. "_Accio_ camera!"

Another pause, then Harry pulled the Firebolt into a rising spiral. Another wrist flick and his wand was safely in the holster again. As he reached the top of the cliff, Harry was met with the sight of Ginny perched leisurely on the grassy ground. She glanced at his empty hands, and sighed, partly in amusement, and partly in resignation. "I know you're rich, Harry, but that doesn't mean you can just lose things all the time!"

"At least you charmed it." Harry said, slightly defensive. "I'll put a Tracking Charm on a new one."

He reached out a hand and helped Ginny up to the broom. "Come here, flying down there gave me an idea."

Ginny smiled and agilely slid into place on the broom behind him. Harry gave her a moment to wrap her arms around his chest, then corkscrewed around, over the edge of the cliff. In his ear, over the rushing wind, Ginny said calmly, "If I were Hermione, you would have scared me straight off the broom."

"If you were Hermione, I'd be making sure it actually was her, just because of her being on the broom in the first place." Harry replied. As they neared the surface of the water, Harry leveled out the flight of the broom, skimming over the top of the rolling waves.

There was no response. When the silence persisted, he questioned, "Ginny?"

"Thanks, Harry."

Caught off guard, he only managed to utter, "For what?"

He felt Ginny drop a kiss on the back of his neck, and her arms tighten around him. "Just for being you."

Harry lifted a hand off the broom to briefly touch one of Ginny's resting on his chest, and smiled. Losing a camera had gained them a fond memory. 

_Over a decade later…_

"Percy! Gods, you act like it's the first time every time you come to the beach!" Annabeth scowled prettily.

Percy beamed a cheeky smile right back at her stormy eyes. "And we're going to the museum tomorrow, so you get to do the exact same thing!"

She sighed, and a reluctant smile crossed Annabeth's face. "Alright. But really Percy, you should put away Riptide before-"

"Whoa, Annabeth, check this out!" Percy capped the sword and stuck it back in his pocket, stooping over to pick up a sandy object. He brushed off the sand. "It's a camera! A digital one, but it looks really old…"

Releasing another sigh, Annabeth trudged over to Percy. He grinned and thrust the camera out for her to examine. "You love me anyway."

Percy's cheeks pinked as she froze. Her eyes darted up to his for an instant. Then they returned to the camera and she sniped, "Yeah yeah, whatever. Give it here."

He breathed a silent sigh, and handed over the camera. Annabeth rolled it in her hands, looking at every detail. "It's very old. More than a decade. I can't tell if it even works, or if there's pictures already on it. It's digital, I know that…"

She sat down to continue her examination. Before her excitement at finding an antique could rise too high, it was snatched from her hands. Percy exclaimed, "I know! Let's take a picture and have whatever pictures on there are developed!"

"Percy, this impetuousness is what keeps getting you into trouble!" Annabeth scolded lightly. "You're so… so…-"

"Amazing?" Percy offered. Annabeth rolled her eyes with a fond huff and drew her knees into herself. She laid her right arm across them and propped up her chin with her left, the arm resting over the other, as Percy wrapped his right around her shoulders. Even as he raised the camera with his left arm, he was acutely aware of how his fingers rested upon Annabeth's arm. He smiled into the lens.

He felt, more than saw, Annabeth open her mouth. Presumably, she was going to comment on something, but then she closed it, and the camera flashed. Then, Percy noticed. "You were going to point out how my thumb was covering part of the lens, right?"

She gave him a long-suffering, fond look, and merely said, "Let's get the photos developed. If this thing works, we'll keep it."

Later, she would comment on how lively and pretty the redhead in the one other photo looked. Percy would interject by pointing out the lightning bolt scar on "that black-haired guy's forehead." Annabeth would fix him with that closed-mouth-one-eyebrow-raised-I-love-you-you-idiot rueful smile she wore in the picture taken that day they found the camera.

Harry James Potter would hear his beloved wife Ginny Potter sneeze, and young James Sirius adorably try to imitate her. Then he'd sneeze himself, and the resultant attempt at mimicking the deep roar by the boy would send the happy young couple into gales of laughter.


End file.
